DCHawker

@DCHawker

Posts made by DCHawker

@Kcmatt7 I agree with your characterization of HCBS’s approach of “break them down and build them up” - and, how it contrasts with K and Cal and how it may not work with perhaps more fragile egos. But, it seems that the issue may be more than just lack of confidence. It may be that Grimes doesn’t have quite the skill set or mental fortitude that his HS stats, the video and his class ranking would otherwise suggest. Perhaps competition (or lack thereof in Houston) as @benshawks08 suggests may be part of the problem.

When I look at the video, what I see is a decent handle, good vision and passing ability, a solid looking stroke, and pretty good hops. But, what I really don’t see is him attacking the rim - unless he has a clear path. In all but the last image, whenever he is driving toward the basket and there is a body somewhere in the way, he either falls away or throws up a floater. He simply doesn’t go at anyone with authority or purpose. And, that’s against players that were mostly smaller than him - at least not the size and bulk he is up against every game in D1. And, that has clearly been an issue during his tenure here - he seems to shy away from ANY kind of contact (whether driving, defending or rebounding).

Whatever the root cause, his lack of production across the board is actually stunning, esp. for someone as highly ranked as he was. There are 6 players on the team who have averaged between 26 and 33 minutes per game (including Vick for this purpose). Of those six, he is second to last in PPG (barely ahead of Garrett), last in RBs, next to last in assists, last in steals, last in FG%, last in FT% and second to last in 3pt%.

He is 4th on the team in total minutes played. Yet, he is 9th on the team in total offensive rebounds. He’s 6’5" and 210 lbs for goodness sake - on a team that needs everyone to contributed on the glass. He has just 11 offensive rebounds the entire season. He’s 6th on the team in steals. He has attempted just 38 FTs all season.

Confidence can affect your shot. It can affect whether or when you shoot. But, confidence shouldn’t really come into play fighting for position, battling for rebounds, diving for the loose balls and so on.

He may not ever be what we thought he would be - but he should and hopefully still can be much better that what he has shown through the first 26 games of his freshman year. Whether he is too broken, or whether he can be built back up, I guess time will tell…

@approxinfinity Grimes is simply inexplicable. Some have suggested he has been “more active” over the past few games.

Consider this. He has made exactly two buckets in each of the past 5 games. Over that span, he has averaged more TOs and fouls than FGs, RBs, or assists. He has made exactly ZERO FTs over those 5 games - only 2 attempts.

He made the first shot of the game tonight and then was 1-7. An early assist - and then the disappearing act - as has been the case in almost every game. He simply doesn’t impact the game in any meaningful positive way. What is truly astonishing is that a guy who is 6’5" and 210lbs averages well less than 2 RBs a game on a team that needs everyone to contribute on the boards.

The “good news” is that he only played ~20 minutes - probably 2-5 minutes too many.